Predictive model of household water consumption in Wallonia and potential for Vietnam

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Household water consumption in Spain: disparities between region

This paper studies the regional consumption of household water in Spain in the period 2000–2018. The use of the methodology proposed by Phillips and Sul allows us to conclude that there is no single pattern of behavior across the Spanish regions. By contrast, we can determine the existence of three convergence clubs, confirming serious regional disparities in water consumption. Navarra, País Vasco, La Rioja, and Cataluña are included in the convergence club that shows the lowest levels of household water consumption, while the Islas Canarias, Comunidad Valenciana, Castilla y León and Cantabria belong to that with the highest consumption. The determinants of the forces that drive these convergence clubs are difficult to identify because the demographic, economic and structural variables of the network interact in different ways. Nevertheless, we can select a group of explanatory variables that help to explain the formation of the convergence clubs. These are regional household income, the birth rate in the regions, and the regional spending on environmental protection. Increments in the levels of these variables are helpful for reducing household water consumption. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Determinação do perfil de consumo residencial de água potável apoiado em tecnologia de medição inteligente

Assim como em outras regiões do mundo, o Brasil vem enfrentando com frequência crescente problemas relacionados à escassez hídrica. Entender o uso da água mostra-se um caminho promissor no intuito de planejar os recursos disponíveis e impedir novas crises. Este estudo objetiva estimar  o consumo residencial de água potável, identificando o perfil de consumo das famílias dos domicílios monitorados, bem como avaliar de que forma os aspectos sazonais afetam os usos de água potável. Para tanto, foi utilizado medidor inteligente na saída do reservatório superior de 15 residências localizadas na cidade de Goiânia, durante um ano, para coleta dos consumos, e também o desenvolvimento de um algoritmo de aprendizado de máquina para classificação dos dados em usos finais. A pesquisa demonstrou possibilidades na obtenção de dados sobre os usos finais, identificação dos horários de pico de consumo, variações nos usos de água em relação aos dias da semana e também a correlação entre o uso de água e variáveis climáticas, justificando a adoção de medidores inteligentes no planejamento hídrico ao permitir maior profundidade de análise

A review of household water demand management and consumption measurement

Rapid population growth and economic prosperity among other factors are exacerbating existing water stress in the east and southeast regions of England, hence, the water sector is increasingly shifting focus from the expansion of water sources and increased abstraction to demand-side management (DSM) strategies aimed at improving household water efficiency and reducing per capita consumption. A crucial component of water DSM strategy is a good understanding of household water use patterns and the myriad factors that influence them. Smart metering, conflated with innovative techniques and groundbreaking ancillaries continue to support DSM strategies by providing quasi-real-time data, offering powerful insights into household water consumption patterns and delivering behaviour-changing feedback to consumers. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the current state of household water consumption and their determinants as reported in the literature. The paper also reviews the methods and techniques for measuring and understanding consumption patterns and discuss prominent DSM instruments utilised in the household water demand sector globally along with their relative impact on per capita consumption (PCC). The review concludes that while disaggregation remains a very effective means of revealing consumption patterns at micro-component levels, the process is time-consuming and costly, relying on high-resolution data, specific hardware and software combination, making it difficult to incorporate into the utility’s routine DSM framework. A future research is proposed, that may focus on an alternative, scalable consumption pattern recognition approach that can easily be incorporated into the utility’s DSM strategy using medium resolution smart-meter data

Managing coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) : the case of water

Many sustainability challenges of the 21st century are the result of poor management of coupled human and natural systems (CHANS). Limited understanding of the mechanisms that give rise to complex dynamics in CHANS has contributed to overexploitation and degradation of water and other natural resources around the globe, leading to unintended consequences of well-intentioned policies. This raises the question of whether the tools and methods currently used in environmental management and policy design meet the requirements of complex dynamic systems. In this thesis, qualitative and quantitative research approaches from the fields of systems thinking and simulation modelling were combined with the aim of improving understanding of the dynamics of CHANS, and human-water systems in particular, and developing better methods and tools to support more effective policy and management strategies in the future. The work included a systematic review, qualitative and quantitative system dynamics modelling case studies, method development, and agent-based modelling and simulation. The results showed that changes in CHANS are driven by observable and unobservable exchanges of energy, matter and information across space and time that give rise to constantly changing, nonlinear dynamics. Many contemporary tools and methods used in management and policy design are not suited to this dynamic complexity and, instead of embracing complexity, seek to reduce it by excluding structural drivers of endogenous behaviour. This can contribute to unsustainable water use and amplify impacts of climate change in coupled human and water systems. This thesis showed that system dynamics-based approaches can effectively complement conventional static management tools, to better account for dynamic complexity. By tapping into the collective intelligence of actors engaged in the system, the approaches can support more realistic models and more effective and sustainable management, leading to establishment of middle-range theories for management of CHANS

Caracterização do first flush proveniente de cobertura de fibrocimento localizada em Florianópolis

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil, Florianópolis, 2021.O objetivo deste trabalho consiste em caracterizar qualitativamente o first flush proveniente de uma cobertura de fibrocimento, e analisar o impacto do desvio do escoamento pluviométrico inicial sobre o desempenho quantitativo de sistemas de aproveitamento de água pluvial. Foram coletadas amostras da água pluvial de escoamento referente aos cinco primeiros milímetros escoados, além de amostras de água pluvial não interceptada na cobertura e dados dos eventos de precipitação. Ensaios laboratoriais foram realizados para quantificação dos parâmetros: pH, sólidos suspensos totais, turbidez, condutividade, cor aparente, coliformes totais e Escherichia coli. Análises estatísticas descritivas foram conduzidas comparando a qualidade da água pluvial coletada diretamente da atmosfera e das amostras de escoamento provenientes da cobertura de fibrocimento. Análises de regressão foram efetuadas a fim de verificar a tendência de comportamento dos parâmetros de qualidade durante o escoamento. Analisou-se, ainda, a possível existência de diferenças entre os parâmetros de qualidade da água e as categorias de período de tempo seco antecedente e intensidade pluviométrica. A caracterização qualitativa do first flush foi realizada por meio de análise de componentes principais e análises de regressão simples entre parâmetros de qualidade fortemente correlacionados. Por fim, conduziu-se uma análise de sensibilidade para identificar se o first flush apresenta influência no desempenho quantitativo de sistemas de aproveitamento de água pluvial. Os resultados mostram que o escoamento pluvial pode ser altamente contaminado, sendo observadas concentrações de Escherichia coli superiores ao limite de detecção do teste (2419,6 NMP/100 mL). De acordo com os modelos obtidos estima-se a necessidade de desvio dos 2,5 milímetros iniciais de escoamento para redução de 50% da turbidez. Os testes de hipóteses mostraram que a intensidade inicial do evento e o período de tempo seco antecedente afetam a qualidade da água pluvial de escoamento. A análise de componentes principais resultou em três componentes capazes de explicar mais de 74% da variância dos dados; as variáveis mais influentes foram a cor aparente, pluviosidade total acumulada e intensidade inicial do evento. Verificou-se que o fator ?first flush? exerce pouca influência no desempenho quantitativo dos sistemas de aproveitamento de água pluvial, porém o desvio da porção inicial do escoamento é importante para reduzir o risco de contaminação dos usuários do sistema.Abstract: The aim of this research is to characterise first flush runoff from a fibre cement roof and the impact of its deviation on the quantitative performance of rainwater harvesting systems. Rainwater runoff samples were collected over the first five millimetres drained, as well as rainwater samples not intercepted by the roof and data on rainfall events. Laboratory tests were performed to quantify the parameters: pH, total suspended solids, turbidity, conductivity, apparent colour, total coliforms and Escherichia coli. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted comparing the quality of rainwater collected directly from the sky and runoff samples from the fibre cement roof. Regression analyses were performed in order to assess the behaviour trend of water quality parameters over the runoff. Differences between rainwater quality parameters and the groups of antecedent dry weather period and rainwater intensity were also analysed. Qualitative characterization of first flush was complemented through principal component analysis and simple regression analysis between strongly correlated rainwater quality parameters. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to identify whether the first flush has an influence on the quantitative performance of rainwater harvesting systems. The results show that rainwater can be highly contaminated, once some samples presented Escherichia coli concentrations above the upper detection limit of the test (2419.6 NMP/100 mL). According to the models obtained, in order to reduce the rainwater turbidity in 50%, the diversion of the initial 2.5 millimetres of runoff was estimated. Hypotheses tests showed that the initial rainwater intensity and the antecedent dry weather period affect the quality of rainwater runoff. The principal component analysis showed three components capable of explaining more than 74% of data variance; the most influential variables were apparent colour, total accumulated rainfall and initial rainwater intensity. Although it was found that the ?first flush? factor has little influence on the quantitative performance of rainwater harvesting systems, its deviation is important to reduce risks of contamination to users

A Review of Residential Water Consumption Determinants

peer reviewedWater supply sectors are facing higher uncertainty in both resource availability and consumer demand. Future conservation programs require a full understanding of underlying factors of residential water consumption. However, previous studies have only considered one or several groups of factors without putting them all together in a bigger picture. This study was developed to provide a comprehensive view on these determinants and their relationships, as well as to discuss current gaps and possible directions. Determinants are categorized into six groups: (1) Economic; (2) Socio-demographic; (3) Physical properties; (4) Technological; (5) Climatic; and (6) Spatial drivers. All these determinants produce a very complex picture with many possible interrelationships. This nature, in one hand, poses challenges in selecting suitable technique to avoid autocorrelation, but on the other hand, provides chances to substitute unavailable important data with proxy variables. We have emphasized the lack of regional and cultural diversity in current studies, as most of them were carried out in developed and arid areas. Hence, a wider range of country specific and local-based studies is needed to better reflect the determinants and their relationships in diverse contexts. In future studies, a broader assessment scope taking into account effects such as feedback loop, spillover, and rebound should also be considered. In addition, these studies must deal with modern issues such as balancing between smart monitoring device utilization and consumer privacy.Wal-e-citie